I love music.
As a man who has participated in many bands, and even once owned his own DJ business that did fairly well, music is a very dear thing to me.
However, I have learned more and more as of recent how true Luke 6:45 is when it says,
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
This is why I feel compelled to share how song lyrics that we listen to, and even recite, can help show what we put into our heart and thus reveal what it is full of.
I started to ponder on this one night as I was running a DJ gig at a high school dance. I was playing some pretty popular music, which all was radio edited in order to attempt to keep it clean as possible.
However, my world was rocked one night when a guy came up to me and said I was doing a great job. He then followed that statement by saying that because of me, he said, “I’m pretty sure I’m gonna get laid tonight!”
I felt off the rest of that night, along with every other time I had a gig.
I was providing an atmosphere that was fun for high schoolers and weddings, but at the same time, there is absolutely no way that many of the songs I was playing could glorify Christ.
On top of this, Mark 9:42 says,
“If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.”
As believers and followers of Christ, we have an obligation to sacrifice our own preferences, die to ourselves, and follow Christ.
This lead me to quit my job as a DJ and sell all of my equipment that I used. I also started to really evaluate song lyrics and the messages they portray.
Out of this experience, I quickly realized how trashy most songs are.
I must apologize to many women as I now realize how often trashy rap songs talk ill of you and how they don’t identify you for the fearfully and wonderfully made person you are made in the image of God.
I also quickly realized how often the subject of sex comes up.
I find it so detrimental to our generation that roughly 92% of the top 10 songs from Billboard promote sex.
I also find it scary how often the idea of drugs and alcohol come up as well.
Another detrimental factor I realize is how the world is attempting to strum our heart strings and change our very nature to look at love from different angles than the way we are shown in Christ.
Take for example, the catchy, but very lost tunes and lyrics of the many songs from Taylor Swift recently. She talks about a passion for hatred of her ex-boyfriends, and the way that she refuses to mend these relationships but would rather only talk negatively and openly about such experiences.
I feel that Colossians 3:5 is a great way to see the seriousness of this. It says,
“So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.”
The thing is, with this verse is that if we choose not to put to death these sins, then in greed and selfish ambition, we cling to these idols we have before Christ.
I also speak from experience in which I have noticed that when I listen to songs that do not glorify Christ, it affects the very nature by how I portray myself in front of others.
If I listen to songs with any foul language, it affects the way I speak.
If a song promotes sex, with as much as a struggle many men have with purity, including myself, it can only make the struggle more difficult.
Ultimately, I feel that Romans 14:23 applies well to eating, drinking, music, or any other decision we make. It says,
“But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.”
Thus, I want to leave you with several questions:
- Are you providing a stumbling block to others by what you say, do, or the lyrics you listen to?
- Can you honor God by what you are saying, doing, or what you are listening to?
- Do you feel that there are any doubts on whether you ought to say, do, or listen to something that you know does not honor God entirely?
If you find that you are in sin through these sources, what are you going to do about it?
Responses